Verily, I set my forehead on the dust and turn my
face toward the Lord of Lords and invoke my Lord
with intense fervor and attraction, that He may look
upon you with the glances of the eye of His providence,
watch over you with the gaze of His protection, unite
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your hearts, dilate your breasts, harmonize your souls,
rejoice you with gladness, exhilarate you with the chalices
of salvation, make you steadfast in the divine Cause
and that He may enable you to cling to the hem of
the Almighty, to hasten toward the place of sacrifice
and to be sheltered under the shadow of the Blessed
Tree whose roots are planted firm and whose branches
are extended to heaven:

O my Lord! O my Lord! These are the chosen
ones whose faces are illumined with the light of guidance,
who found the heavenly table pleasing to their
tastes, who submitted willingly to every matter which
happened in the land and sought help from the hosts of
the Supreme Concourse. Their feet are indeed made
firm, their banners hoisted, their deeds righteous and
their actions just. O Lord! Make them fragrant
plants of Thy paradise, flowers of the garden of nearness,
verses of Thy glorious book, words of Thy “Published
tablet” unto the people of the world and as falcons
soaring on the loftiest summit. Verily Thou art
the Beneficent, the Merciful, the Powerful, the Mighty,
the Bestower!

O my dear friends! Yours was not merely a letter;
it was perfumed with amber and diffused a sweet fragrance.
Every word thereof was a rose in the rose-garden
of the love of God and was a flower, a hyacinth.

When the breeze of Providence blows from the direction
of gift, the gardens of hearts attain thereby exceeding
purity and freshness. Such significances arise
from the soul and consciousness and impart joy and
fragrance.
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O friends! It is the wish of Abdul-Baha that the
friends may establish general unity and not a particular
meeting of unity. You must have great consideration
for this fact, for during the past cycles though such
events (founding of particular, i.e., exclusive unity
meetings) were, in the beginning, a means for harmony,
they became in the end the cause of trouble.

We are all servants of one Threshold, attendants at
one Court, waves of one sea, drops of one stream, the
dust before one door and plants of one garden. There
must arise no trouble to deprive one from that which
is the real purpose. The beloved of God must be
friendly even with strangers and intimate even with
outsiders—how much more with others among the
righteous (i.e., believers)!

To organize assemblies is praiseworthy and acceptable,
but these must be established for certain matters.
For example: Assemblages for teaching (the Truth),
gatherings for the spread of the fragrances of God,
gatherings for the relief of the orphans, gatherings for
the protection (i.e., feeding, etc.,) of the poor, assemblages
for the spread of learning and, in a word,
there must be gatherings for matters which concern the
well-being of men, such as organizations of a society of
commerce, societies for the expansion of agriculture.
To be brief, similar societies are very acceptable and
praiseworthy and concern all in general and not a particular
number.

In a word: That which is conducive to the life (or
growth) of the people is acceptable and whatever is the
cause of disaffection is blameworthy. I hope all the
friends of the East and West shall rest in the same
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assemblage and adorn one gathering, appearing with
all the heavenly attributes and virtues in the world of
humanity.

O my Lord! O my Lord! Enable me to witness the
most great sign and to realize the fulfillment of this
hope throughout all regions. Verily Thou art the
Bestower, the Beneficent, whose bounties are great!

Some of the friends have asked to present themselves
in these parts. In these days this does not conform
with wisdom. God willing, permission shall be
given at some favorable time.